Swollen eyelids following chalazion treatment

I suffer swollen eyelids. Approx. 10 months ago my right eyelid developed a chalazion. The eye doctor prescribed anti-bacterial drops and ointment to be applied 30 days with warm compresses. The area affected had lost eyelashes about 1/8th of inch which grew back and the majority of swelling subsided. However, shortly after my left eyelid developed what appeared to be a small sty with a tiny blister on the lashline that popped then both eyelids became swollen.  A constant feeling of minor pressure due to swelling is experienced.  I do not necessarily feel itching or burning, mostly pressure. The swelling seems to be throughout the lashline area and toward the upper-inner corners and has change my appearance greatly.  Repeating original treatment with refills is not helping. Warm compresses reduce swelling slightly yet once stopped swelling returns. I'm not aware of having any allergies but will begin taking Clariton out of curiosity from reading others comments from this site. I'll try anything at this point to look like my old self. I'm healthy, 42, have been under unusual stress this past year.

I've scheduled a second appointment with the opthamolgist, however , I'm without insurance at the moment and would appreciate any insight into a home remedy or help presenting this more effectively to my doctor.

Please advise and thank you.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Unfortunately I think you've gone about as far as you can go with home treatment: warm compresses, lid cleaning with dilute baby shampoo or commercial eyelid cleaner (OcuSoft, EyeScrub) and antibiotic drops or ointment and judicious waiting.

The next stage for recalcitrant chalazia is steroid injection and/or incision and currettement. Also the tissue removed need to be biopsied and looked at under a microscope by a pathologist to confirm its a chalazia and not a worrisome type of tumor.

JCH MD

[heff1]

Thank you for your time...I've never accessed a medical web site before and am very pleased I took advantage of this site. I appreciate your insight/direction, sounds like I better bite the bullet getting insurance and keep up with the warm compresses!  Happy Memorial Day.

[Seejaye]

A related discussion, Lingering swelling following removal of chalazia was started.